Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Rounds 4/3: Loretta Lynn's Ranch GRAND NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY/AMA NATIONAL HARE SCRAMBLES SERIES I I! III U i Q . 8! By Chris Deutsche" _© 0- on i: ~ 56 HURRICANE MILLS, TN, APR. 11 ne win, maybe two wins, could be considered a fluke. Some may consider it luck. Three convincing wins in the first four rounds of the Wiseco/Yamaha/Dunlop/Moose/ FMF/Klotz Crand National Cross Country Series, however, suggests that Australian Shane Watts is a significant threat to take the series title. And luck has nothing to do with it. Watts, riding a KTM 125, made the fast and technical Racer Productions-prepared Loretta Lynn's course look easy as he worked (Above) Shane Watts worked his way up from a midpack start at Loretta Lynn's Ranch to claim his third GNCC win in four rounds. up from a mid pack start into a minuteand-a-half lead by the fourth of six grueling laps. Watts' lead was cut down to 17 seconds on the last lap as fourthplaced Barry Hawk made a big charge, trying to make his first podium in the bike class. In the end, Watts cruised in for another of what looks to be many wins this season. . '1 expected to have a good year, but I didn't know how good," Watts said. "The guys out here are really good, and 1 wasn't sure what to expect. 1 just found my operungs and went for it. Luckily, it worked out with the win." The fourth round of the GNCC series, which was also round three of the National Hare Scrambles series, was s~ to begin on a beautiful, clear and sunny day at the Loretta Lynn's Ranch. Tennessee hadn't seen much rain in the past few weeks, so the course was on the dry side, but dust was not expected to be a factor. All in all, the riders were in for a fast and rocky course that would get significantly rougher as the day progressed. As the flag dropped for the large Pro class, KTM's National Enduro Champion, Mike Lafferty, was the quickest into the trees and across the first creek crossing. Right behind Lafferty were Kawasaki rider Jim Jarrett and Suzuki's Paul Edmondson, with the rest of the Pro riders bunched up right behind. Lafferty was able to maintain the lead position through the first lap, but the fast mover . was Kawasaki's Fred Andrews, who moved into second before the riders went through the barrels the first time. Watts - fifth through the barrels - was nine seconds off the lead at this point. As the riders began the second of what would eventually be a six-lap race, Watts made his move for the lead. In short order, he passed Rodney Smith, Edmondson, Andrews and Lafferty to take an lS-second lead by the end of the second lap. "The condi tions were pretty good," Watts said. "1 tried a new strategj' of going past these guys early and not riding in a pack and just going for it. I guess they weren't ready to go that fast that early in the race." Watts' strategy may have had something to do with it, but other things were happening in the pack that the Australian rider didn't know about. As it turns out, two of the fastest riders, Smith and Andrews, were both suffering from bad colds, and neither rider was up to full speed. "[ was sick all week and 1 was content to just ride with Fred," srod a tired Rodney Smi th after the race. 'II had no energy or strength today to fight, so 1 rode with Freddy, who also wasn't feeling that great, either. I didn't even really see Shane today. After he passed me, [ crashed." Besides his cold, Andrews had other problems to contend with. Right after· Watts passed him, Andrews smashed his foot, and he had to slow down to come to grips with the pain. "1 just did not cl1arge hard enough," said Andrews as he iced down his swollen foot after the race. "I got off the line and started cruising. I smashed my foot with two laps to go, and I think some bones are broken." Up front, Watts was cruising with. more than a minute lead on the rest of the field. Behind Wa tts, Smith - cold and all - had moved into second, while Andrews gritted his way through the pain to hold down third. Former leader Lafferty was not able to hold' On to the blistering pace set by the GNCC regulars and he faded back to fourth. GNCC ATV Champion Barry Hawk was mak-

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